Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lens barrel installed in an image pickup apparatus, such as a digital camera, and relates to an image pickup apparatus provided with the lens barrel.
Description of the Related Art
Some image pickup apparatuses, such as a digital camera, are provided with a zoom lens barrel that changes photographing magnification by moving a plurality of lenses in an optical axis direction. Such a lens barrel moves lens holders that respectively hold the plurality of lenses in the optical axis direction with regulating pivots of the lens holders by combining a plurality of rectilinear barrels and rotating barrels. Moreover, the lens barrel is housed in the apparatus body at the time of retraction, which thins the thickness of the image pickup apparatus in the optical axis direction.
There are proposed mechanisms that guide lens holders holding lenses along two guide bars extending in the optical axis direction (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2006-251651 (JP 2006-251651A) and Japanese Patent Publication No. 5482129 (JP 5482129B)). In these proposed mechanisms, a fitting hole and a U-shaped slot are formed in a lens holder. The fitting hole is fitted to a first guide bar so as to be slidable in the optical axis direction. The U-shaped slot is engaged with a second guide bar so as to be slidable in the optical axis direction and to function as a pivot stopper.
However, the mechanisms disclosed in the above-mentioned publications have possibility that the lens holder falls from the second guide bar because a forceful impact from outside may take the U-shaped slot of the lens holder off the second guide bar and release the function of the pivot stopper.